Continuing Professional Development
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is defined in the
General Medical Council’s Guidance on Continuing Professional
Development, April 2004 as
'A continuing learning process that complements
formal undergraduate and postgraduate education and training. CPD
requires doctors to maintain and improve their standards across all
areas of their practice. CPD should also encourage and support
specific changes in practice and career development. It has a role
to play in helping doctors to keep up to date when they are not
practising'
The current appraisal system and the forthcoming
introduction of revalidation procedures have placed the spotlight
on CPD. An active, reflective CPD record is the best
way doctors can demonstrate they are up to date in the
context of their clinical practice. The principal aims
of the RCGP’s CPD scheme are to ensure that every GP continues to
update and apply their clinical knowledge and skills, to promote
patient confidence that a GP’s knowledge is up to date and,
ultimately to help to improve patient safety. CPD is,
therefore, integral to the GP appraisal process and the future
recertification system for GPs.
The Royal College of General Practitioners is developing a
national managed scheme for CPD for all GPs through its
Professional Development Board (PDB), with patient need being
central to the agenda. The scheme will adhere to the
10 principles of good
practice in CPD developed by the Academy of Medical Royal
Colleges (AMRC). The main principles of the RCGP CPD strategy
are outlined in the PDB Chair, Professor Nigel Sparrow’s paper
‘Good
CPD for GPs’ which was endorsed by the RCGP Council on 16 June
2007.
We are working closely with organisations such as COGPED, NAPCE,
UKCEA and Postgraduate Deaneries and will be consulting with
faculties and other local interests, individual GPs and CPD
providers as the scheme develops.
The RCGP managed CPD scheme will be applicable to all four
countries of the UK, and appropriate for all practising GPs -
whatever their stage of career, RCGP membership status, work
setting, employment status, learning style, special interests - and
be generalisable to GMC registered doctors working outside the UK.
The scheme will be available to RCGP members throughout the UK and
overseas as part of their membership package and to non-members for
a reasonable fee.
RCGP Council on 14th June 2008 endorsed an outline of the
scheme – in a paper entitled
'RCGP Credit Based System for Continuing Professional Development
(CPD),'. This proposes a
structure for the Credit Based System, explains how the scheme
would work and describes the role of the appraisers within
it.
CPD in Appraisal
The CPD scheme will enable all GPs to demonstrate at appraisal
that they remain competent across the broad range of knowledge and
skills relating to a GP’s role and will help practicing GPs fulfill
the standards and requirements of the forthcoming revalidation process for all
GPs.
GPs are required to present a portfolio of CPD activities at
their appraisal.
Criteria and standards have been developed to allow a GP appraiser
to judge the quality of a GP’s forthcoming Personal Development
Plan. Since reviews of CPD occur within a managed and quality
assured appraisal system, this in turn quality assures the RCGP
credit system.
CPD Initiatives
A range of initiatives are being developed by the Professional
Development Board to support CPD for GPs.
The RCGP Essential General Practice Updates will be a key
element of the RCGP's provision of a managed CPD scheme and will
contribute to the revalidation folder. These are six monthly
learning modules which include new and changing knowledge relevant
to general practice.
The RCGP will develop an e-portfolio for
established GPs to be able to record their CPD. The CPD
portfolio will link to an individual doctor’s nMRCGP e-portfolio so
that each doctor will have a continuous record of learning and
development across a GP’s career.
Other initiatives include:
• iMAP
• a range of Distance Learning initiatives
• the Leadership Programme
• Substance
Misuse training and certification
• Team
Quality - developing quality in teams though QPA,
QTD
• Professional Development Courses - such as
Certificate of Assessment
• PwSI Frameworks